Kidney cancer stage descriptions are a standard means of recognizing how far a case of kidney cancer has progressed. Once a stage has been assigned, the doctor can begin to evaluate the best means for treatment.
Knowing the stage gives both the doctor and the patient a firm idea of how serious the disease has become and how much the cancer has spread beyond the kidneys. Knowing whether a tumor is confined to the kidneys, or if it has spread to other tissues and parts of the body, is critical in determining a prognosis. It’s easy to understand why this knowledge is the key to determining a prognosis and designing the best possible course of action to bring about a cure.
A number of factors are considered in determining a kidney cancer stage designation. Typically, a number between one and four will be assigned after a diagnosis has been made with the help of tests and other information. Medical professionals sometimes use a system of Roman numerals from I to IV in assigning a stage.
Once you know the stage, you can also estimate survival rates by looking at statistics for other kidney cancer patients. There’s no guarantee, of course, that someone whose cancer has been caught early will survive longer than someone diagnosed at a later stage. But obviously, someone with early stage kidney cancer has a better chance at longevity than someone who is diagnosed with a later stage.
Stages are assigned to kidney cancer based on the following information about the disease.
Stage 1 - The cancer is “localized,” meaning that no cancer cells have broken off and spread to surrounding tissues or organs. The size of the tumor is no more than 7 centimeters (about 2.8 inches).
Stage 2 - This is a more serious stage than Stage 1 because the tumor is larger. It’s now bigger than 7 centimeters or 2.8 inches. However, all cancer cells still appear to be located in the kidney, and there’s no evidence of metastasis (spreading to other tissues or organs).
Stage 3 - Kidney cancer is more complicated to treat at Stage 3 because it has spread to the adjacent adrenal gland or a major vein near the kidney. It may also be found in no more than one lymph node.
Stage 4 - At this stage, kidney cancer has become very dangerous and difficult to treat. The malignancy has spread to more than one lymph node, or possibly to a distant organ (metastasis).
The stage system is not the only method of evaluating the danger posed by kidney cancer. Doctors can also assign a “grade” that is a further indication of the level of danger. Grade is determined by placing malignant cells under a microscope and comparing their appearance to normal kidney cells.
If there’s not much difference in appearance between the cancer cells and normal cells, a low grade will be designated. However, when there’s a big difference in appearance between normal cells and abnormal cells, a higher grade will be designated. Grade designations are important to know because they often indicate how quickly the cancer may spread. Treatment decisions are based partially on grade designations because the higher the grade, the more likely the cancer is to spread quickly (making quick treatment more important).
The most important thing to remember about kidney cancer stages is their value in helping the doctor determine the best way to treat the disease.
In general, kidney cancer is more common among those who have passed their fiftieth birthday, and it happens twice as often to men as it does to women. Kidney cancer accounts for approximately 12,000 deaths every year in the United States, according to statistics released by the American Cancer Society. 30,000 new cases are diagnosed annually.
Of course, everyone hopes these numbers will decrease as treatment methods improve and research gets closer to a cure. But between now and then, doctors will continue to use the kidney cancer staging system to make important decisions about treatment, saving as many lives as they can along the way.
Related topics: kidney cancer stages and kidney cancer info. Neal Kennedy is a retired TV and radio journalist. To read more of his articles, click on coping with kidney problems.